You are here

4 better ways to manage your data

4 better ways to manage your data

You can't run a business today without data – heaps and heaps of data. It's useful, sure, but it can also quickly become overwhelming, especially for enterprises that are only just beginning to leverage this data-driven world for their own benefit. In fact, a survey from Primary Data found that 51 percent of administrators are managing 10 or more different types of storage, while around 30 percent are handling approximately 20 storage resources.

"Businesses need better solutions now more than ever."

"The results of this survey echo what we have been hearing from customers: Enterprises have many storage options, but need a way to finally integrate the diverse capabilities of their storage investments to meet evolving business needs," Lance Smith, the CEO at Primary, said in a press release.

Additionally, Symantec reported that enterprises spend $38 million annually on data, and with high rates of loss and damage occurring in the survey, businesses require better solutions now more than ever.

To help you understand what your business needs from its data management solution, here are four handy tips:

1. Understand your data and problems
Depending on your business, you may not know a whole lot about the kind of data you create and what you exactly need to manage it. As CIO pointed out, a lot of organizations lack a fundamental understanding of their data, like who owns it or whether it's personal or business-related. The same goes for understanding the problems that may plague your current IT infrastructure. Before you look into the different approaches to managing data, get to know yours.

2. Deduplicate
Duplication is one of the most common problems complicating data centers, according to a quote from Leo Welder, the CEO of ChooseWhat.com, in ComputerWorld.

In fact, as much as 42 percent of the data stored by organizations is duplicate information, C.J. Desai, senior vice president of the Information Management Group at Symantec, told CIO.

Enterprises should first work to apply solutions that reduce the amount of duplication to maximize their storage capabilities. Deduplication allows you to free up precious space and make sure you're only storing what you need. Archive technologies can also help reduce costs by managing data and eliminating unnecessary storage.

The cloud has become increasingly popular for its flexibility and affordability – two major benefits in data storage and management.

3. Use the cloud
The cloud is one simple solution that many businesses have begun to use to treat their data woes. As CIO magazine pointed out, plenty of companies focus too heavily on the device or data center instead of the actual information that it stores.

"Eliminating the datacenter altogether is the ultimate means to reduce its complexity," Jaspreet Singh, the CEO of DRUVA, told ComputerWorld. "Moving storage to the cloud eliminates the need for hardware and all the management and overhead required for its infrastructure."

With the security and flexibility of a private cloud infrastructure, enterprises can ensure that their data is being safely and efficiently stored without the costs associated with data centers or the latency concerns that often come with public cloud services. Before jumping to the cloud, think of the ways this solution could work for you.

4. Consider all your optionsData storage solutions aren't typically a "one size fits all" sort of deal. In most cases, it's a combination of different products or tools to help you manage your data. As you browse your options, don't consider them as "one or the other." Think of how you can implement a number of solutions to create the data storage your company needs. The key is to think of these options ahead of time, according to Entrepreneur. Look at what's available and devise a plan before you're desperately looking for storage solutions.

To learn more about how Paramount's services can help you better manage and get more out of your data, please visit the rest of our website.